Frequency and clinical features of intraocular inflammation in Tokyo

Background:  To investigate frequencies and clinical features of intraocular inflammation (uveitis) in Tokyo, Japan. Methods:  Records of 834 consecutive new referral patients (352 men, 482 women) examined at the Kyorin University Hospital from April 2000 to December 2007 were retrospectively reviewed. Results:  Mean age at onset was 44.8 years for men and 47.0 years for women. By anatomical classification, 229 patients (27.4%) had anterior uveitis, 10 (1.2%) had intermediate uveitis, 183 (21.9%) had posterior uveitis and 412 (49.4%) had panuveitis. The most common diagnoses were Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) disease (11.0%), sarcoidosis (6.9%), acute anterior uveitis (6.5%), Behcet's disease (5.8%) and tuberculosis (4.3%). In the third and fourth decades, the most common diseases were Behcet's disease for men and VKH for women, whereas over 60 years of age, the most common diseases were VKH for men and sarcoidosis for women. Systemic corticosteroids were used in 25.5% of patients, and other immunomodulatory agents were required in 8.7% of patients. Conclusions:  The most frequent diagnoses were sarcoidosis, VKH disease, acute anterior uveitis, Behcet's disease and tuberculosis, with Behcet's disease being common in young men and sarcoidosis being common in elderly women. One-fourth of patients received systemic corticosteroids and 8.7% of patients required other immunomodulatory agents.